Sam Claflin, who bared his abs in movies like “The Hunger Games” and “Me Before You,” says he can identify with stories he’s read from actresses who say they have been body shamed on set.
“I read in an interview recently and I think it’s absolutely true: men have it just as bad,” the actor told The Sunday Morning Herald. “Well, not just as bad but they get it bad and it’s never talked about.
“I remember doing one job when they literally made me pull my shirt up and were grabbing my fat and going ‘you need to lose a bit of weight’. This other time they were slapping me. I felt like a piece of meat,” he said.
The actor, who will next appear in “My Cousin Rachel” opposite Rachel Weisz, said he continues to stay “insecure” about his body and sometimes won’t eat for weeks to get the body producers are looking for.
“I’m not saying it’s anywhere near as bad as what women go through but I, as an actor approaching each job, am insecure — especially when I have to take my top off in it — and so nervous,” he added. “I get really worked up to the point where I spend hours and hours in the gym and not eating for weeks to achieve what I think they’re going for.”
The 30-year-old said actors are held to different standards these days.
“In the ’50s and ’60s, it was never an issue,” he said. “James Bond never had a six pack. He had a hairy chest. Marlon Brando in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ had an incredible body but he was by no means ripped to within an inch of his life. There’s a filter on society that this is normal but actually it’s anything but normal.”
This isn’t the first time Claflin has spoken out about his body. In December, the actor clarified that in a particular photograph, his face was photoshopped onto a male’s body.
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Celebrities that have spoken out about body shaming include Chrissy Metz, Amy Schumer, Daisy Ridley, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato and Emma Stone. Even Vin Diesel fell victim to the shaming: After photos surfaced of Diesel with a “softer” physique than fans are used to, the actor said, “I do think it’s wrong to body shame. Trolls on the Internet — there are all kinds of atrocities they commit on the Internet.”